Glamour queen packs a punch

OF ALL the entertainers in the world, you can understand why Jennifer Lopez generates such excitement among her devoted, loud, mostly female fans. Not only has she remained consistent, churning out the hits despite a sometimes bumpy career path, she exudes an increasingly rare (especially for a pop star) genuine Hollywood glamour.

It's that glamour we start with at the first of her two long-awaited Sydney shows: the male dancers are in top hats and tails, the women sparkle behind huge feather fans and then a beaming Lopez arrives on the guys' shoulders, in a glittering bodice and heels, and leads everyone through the first of many well-practised routines as fireworks explode around her.

They're pretty standard arena effects but more convincing coming from someone like Lopez, who has more star power in her derriere than a dozen Ke$has.

It is soon apparent, though, that it's to be a show big on such bombast and spectacle and light on musical quality. After the horn sample that carries opener Get Right dares to offer something genuinely funky, the band, all sledgehammer beats and synth samples, gets louder and harder and Lopez chooses to shout more than sing. Halfway through the second act, which starts with a pair of Lopez's dancers faking a boxing match in a makeshift ring on her runway, it really feels as though you've gone a dozen rounds with Mike Tyson.

Still, even if the production and performance pummel rather than seduce - save a cute performance of If You Had My Love - there's a kick to be had hearing songs such as the hip-hop-flavoured Jenny from the Block and the faux-feisty Love Don't Cost a Thing. Even a medley led by the smooth I'm Real - one of many tunes to feature a cameo from a Lopez collaborator on the big screen at the back, in this instance Ja Rule - has a certain appeal.

In fact, the videos play quite the important role, taking turns with the band and backing singers to stall while Lopez disappears for one of her many costume changes. Yet even though the star does spend more of the show off the stage than you'd probably hope, no one feels cheated. A little aurally bruised and battered, perhaps, but not cheated.

Jennifer Lopez plays her final Sydney show at Allphones Arena on Saturday.